Buoyed with money from the Treasury paid to the state, New Orleans has $25-million dollars to help tenants make good on back rent.
“New Orleans got $11.6-million dollars out of $25-million dollars that’s allocated to New Orleans and the Governor announced he’s going to give the rest of the money—the balance of that $25-million directly to the city for them to manage their own assistance program,” says Housing NOLA executive director Andreanecia Morris.
Instead of being administered by the state, the money for the program will flow to parishes, since they are closer to the renters and the landlords the money is earmarked for.
“In likelihood, most cases are going to be payments directly to the landlord,” Morris indicates. “But if the landlord, for whatever reason, doesn’t want to participate in the program, the money will go to the tenant and the tenant can pay the landlord with it.”
Morris says the $308-million paid to the state amounts to about a quarter of what is needed to stabilize rents across the state. Morris says to fully stabilize rents and pay forward on rents through July the state needs $1.1-billion dollars.
For now, it’s a matter of getting landlords and tenants on the same page so each can conclude business and have back rent paid.
“The preferable design is that the landlord and the tenant come in together or that the tenant applies and the landlord signs the documents and agrees to take the funding,” Morris points out. “Because the landlord is going to have to agree to things.”
After the announcement was made last week by the Governor that he was clearing the way to get New Orleans the full measure of $25-million dollars, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a statement:
“We appreciate Gov. Edwards' announcement that the City will receive $14 million in funds to administer from the U.S. Treasury's Emergency Rental Assistance program as part of the State's allotment of $308 million. We were also encouraged to see the ordinance approving $11.6 million from the same program working its way through the approval process and will continue to fight to keep our people in their homes with all of our available resources."
